Barry stepped off the shuttle and was guided down the path towards the gleaming white buildings ahead. The buildings were pristine, not a speck of dirt could be seen once inside. Shemi had to employ either a legion of janitors or a fleet of cleaning bots to keep the facility so clean, and Barry was sure that the company did whichever was the cheaper of the two. There was a soft hum in the air, one never ending chord that droned through the facility as fans and lights worked in concert. The workers were dressed far nicer than the usual style, clothes giving off a soft light without the mess of wires and tubes that characterized the style of New Miami. Barry watched the way the people acted, and could see that they moved and walked carefully, everyone sure to avoid rumpling or damaging their clothes. Not rich enough to dress like this all the time then, but required to do so anyways. Pretty soon he’d be one of them. He already knew he would grow to hate the acrid smell of disinfectant that seemed to permeate the area. Not for the first time he found himself wishing for the dirt and chaos of the stage. But he’d been chosen for his mind, not his music.
As he was thinking about this, Barry was approached by a woman in the same kind of outfit as the other workers. She was on the smaller side, with dark skin and hair that had been carefully herded into place, not a strand out of place. When she walked she was unusually stiff, something Barry had begun to notice in people that came to New Miami from a place with higher gravity. She’d be earthborn then, not lunar. When she came up to him she flashed an honest smile that could only belong to someone who truly loved their work, and Barry immediately knew they were two very different people.
“Barry Bernadotte?” She said, “I’m Laurel, I’m a robotics engineer here in the Growhouse, working on ensuring that all the machinery here works flawlessly. You’ll be joining my team here, so today I’ll show you around the place and introduce you to some of the others. This week will mostly be just paperwork, but once we finish that you’ll be paired with a mentor who will teach you the procedure for all our routine jobs and help you get familiar with the tech. Then you can get started with the rest of your life!”
“I can’t wait.” Said Barry, and he was sure Shemi Corp wouldn’t let him.
As they walked through the facility Laurel continued to talk about the all the wonderful things that were awaiting him as a Shemi Corp engineer. Barry let the sounds wash over him, not only her voice, or the hum of machinery, but also the people around them. Hurried footsteps that hinted at someone who was closing in on a deadline, a chat by the water cooler between lifelong friends assigned to the same position, a manager yelling at an employee who’d made some mistake. He could already imagine sketching something out on his guitar, trying to capture the feeling in all this noise, the rush and the anger and the beatdown dejection that all clashed together in this place. It was a discordant mess, but behind everything was the inexorable purpose of Shemi Corp. It wasn’t the feeling of walls closing in, but rather the feeling of suddenly realizing there had never been any space at all.
Through it all Laurel continued her spiel on the wonders of Shemi Corp. “You’ll be working with state-of-the-art equipment, only the best here at Shemi Corp. Additionally, the company will provide some housing in its workers dorm and even a membership at the sports center, so you won’t need to worry about paying rent or anything like that. Here at the company we lie to consider ourselves a family, and family looks after each other."
As the tour came to a close, Barry found he had a pressing question to ask. “Laurel,” he said, “what do you think of Shemi Corp?”
The look she gave him was one of honest confusion. ‘Shemi Corp is on the cutting edge of science. We’re lucky to be a part of that.”
“So you don’t believe those rumors about Shemi’s unethical experiments? I mean, I hear the rumors constantly but everything here seems fantastic.” He gave his usual smile, the ‘nothing’s wrong with my life, of course I’m happy’ one he was getting so much practice with lately, to try to take the edge off the question.
Even so, Laurel seemed to take offence. “Those rumors are ridiculous, it’s people lashing out against what they don’t understand. Shemi provides technology beyond what they believe possible so of course some idiots try to ruin it by making up lies.”
Barry could feel the anger in her words, and he got it. This was her guitar.
“I’m glad, I was worried about coming here, but you’ve put my mind at ease.” And to his surprise Barry found he meant it. He hadn’t changed his mind about working here- he knew that being away from his music would crush him eventually- but now he wasn’t so certain the situation was hopeless. There was a place for passion in the world. Shemi wouldn’t let him follow his, not if it took a talented engineer from them. That was fine. He would just have to not tell them.
As he was thinking about this, Barry was approached by a woman in the same kind of outfit as the other workers. She was on the smaller side, with dark skin and hair that had been carefully herded into place, not a strand out of place. When she walked she was unusually stiff, something Barry had begun to notice in people that came to New Miami from a place with higher gravity. She’d be earthborn then, not lunar. When she came up to him she flashed an honest smile that could only belong to someone who truly loved their work, and Barry immediately knew they were two very different people.
“Barry Bernadotte?” She said, “I’m Laurel, I’m a robotics engineer here in the Growhouse, working on ensuring that all the machinery here works flawlessly. You’ll be joining my team here, so today I’ll show you around the place and introduce you to some of the others. This week will mostly be just paperwork, but once we finish that you’ll be paired with a mentor who will teach you the procedure for all our routine jobs and help you get familiar with the tech. Then you can get started with the rest of your life!”
“I can’t wait.” Said Barry, and he was sure Shemi Corp wouldn’t let him.
As they walked through the facility Laurel continued to talk about the all the wonderful things that were awaiting him as a Shemi Corp engineer. Barry let the sounds wash over him, not only her voice, or the hum of machinery, but also the people around them. Hurried footsteps that hinted at someone who was closing in on a deadline, a chat by the water cooler between lifelong friends assigned to the same position, a manager yelling at an employee who’d made some mistake. He could already imagine sketching something out on his guitar, trying to capture the feeling in all this noise, the rush and the anger and the beatdown dejection that all clashed together in this place. It was a discordant mess, but behind everything was the inexorable purpose of Shemi Corp. It wasn’t the feeling of walls closing in, but rather the feeling of suddenly realizing there had never been any space at all.
Through it all Laurel continued her spiel on the wonders of Shemi Corp. “You’ll be working with state-of-the-art equipment, only the best here at Shemi Corp. Additionally, the company will provide some housing in its workers dorm and even a membership at the sports center, so you won’t need to worry about paying rent or anything like that. Here at the company we lie to consider ourselves a family, and family looks after each other."
As the tour came to a close, Barry found he had a pressing question to ask. “Laurel,” he said, “what do you think of Shemi Corp?”
The look she gave him was one of honest confusion. ‘Shemi Corp is on the cutting edge of science. We’re lucky to be a part of that.”
“So you don’t believe those rumors about Shemi’s unethical experiments? I mean, I hear the rumors constantly but everything here seems fantastic.” He gave his usual smile, the ‘nothing’s wrong with my life, of course I’m happy’ one he was getting so much practice with lately, to try to take the edge off the question.
Even so, Laurel seemed to take offence. “Those rumors are ridiculous, it’s people lashing out against what they don’t understand. Shemi provides technology beyond what they believe possible so of course some idiots try to ruin it by making up lies.”
Barry could feel the anger in her words, and he got it. This was her guitar.
“I’m glad, I was worried about coming here, but you’ve put my mind at ease.” And to his surprise Barry found he meant it. He hadn’t changed his mind about working here- he knew that being away from his music would crush him eventually- but now he wasn’t so certain the situation was hopeless. There was a place for passion in the world. Shemi wouldn’t let him follow his, not if it took a talented engineer from them. That was fine. He would just have to not tell them.